A senior administrator at California's Claremont McKenna College resigned after admitting that for years he falsified SAT scores to publications such as U.S. News & World Report to inflate the small, prestigious school's ranking among the nation's colleges and universities, according to the college's president.

Police say three people were arrested for investigation of possession of marijuana for sale. More than 50 pounds of marijuana and more than $6,000 in cash were seized along with the store's medical records.

There were once more than 60 medical marijuana stores in the Devonshire Division, but police say all have been shut down because of illegal activity.

Warmist Michael Mann's "hockeystick" says that the LIA did not happen. And in 2007 bigshot Warmist Prof. Phil Jones said "it's important "not to cling to outdated concepts of the past such as the MWP and LIA"

That the "modelling" of the authors below excludes a solar influence as the cause of the LIA need not detain us of course. You can get anything you like out of a model.

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 39, L02708, 5 PP., 2012

Abrupt onset of the Little Ice Age triggered by volcanism and sustained by sea-ice/ocean feedbacks

by Gifford H. Miller et al.

Abstract

Northern Hemisphere summer temperatures over the past 8000 years have been paced by the slow decrease in summer insolation resulting from the precession of the equinoxes. However, the causes of superposed century-scale cold summer anomalies, of which the Little Ice Age (LIA) is the most extreme, remain debated, largely because the natural forcings are either weak or, in the case of volcanism, short lived. Here we present precisely dated records of ice-cap growth from Arctic Canada and Iceland showing that LIA summer cold and ice growth began abruptly between 1275 and 1300 AD, followed by a substantial intensification 1430–1455 AD. Intervals of sudden ice growth coincide with two of the most volcanically perturbed half centuries of the past millennium. A transient climate model simulation shows that explosive volcanism produces abrupt summer cooling at these times, and that cold summers can be maintained by sea-ice/ocean feedbacks long after volcanic aerosols are removed. Our results suggest that the onset of the LIA can be linked to an unusual 50-year-long episode with four large sulfur-rich explosive eruptions, each with global sulfate loading >60 Tg. The persistence of cold summers is best explained by consequent sea-ice/ocean feedbacks during a hemispheric summer insolation minimum; large changes in solar irradiance are not required.

(Bridgeport, Connecticut) Back in 2001, a woman and her boyfriend, two workers at a travel agency, conspired to produce child porn using the woman's eight-year-old daughter. Neither eluded legal consequences for the crime.

A mother formerly from Fairfield was sentenced Monday to eight years in federal prison for participating with her ex-boyfriend in performing and filming sexual acts on her 8-year old daughter.

Senior U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton said such a low term won't be the case Tuesday when he sentences Edgardo Sensi, the former boyfriend, who is accused of filming similar acts with other children including a 4-year-old in Nicaragua.

"The court is very disturbed by the film I saw," Eginton said. "It's just so dreadful." He called Sensi a "very evil person" about whom "I will have a lot to say tomorrow."

In sentencing the mother, Eginton said he considered her willingness to spare her daughter from recounting the year-long abuse and to testify herself against Sensi had he gone to trial.[…]

Public Defender Ronald Resetarits blamed some of the mother's issues on mental and psychological abuse inflicted by first her father and then her former husband. He said they criticized, belittled and often insulted her because of her lack of education and her excessive weight.

“After conducting a very thorough investigation into this complaint, we did find that there was evidence that a crime had been committed,” said Loganville Police Department Lt. Mike Westbrooks, who served as the lead investigator in the case.

“We were able to confirm the child’s story that the teacher put a pair of scissors to her own throat and dragged it across in a threatening gesture and did grab him by his hoodie and attempt to pull him out of his seat.”

Guglietta reportedly took issue with a comment made about a large amount of gel in her hair.

Guglietta was booked into the Walton County Detention Center and released on $8,000 bond.

Jason Elia, a television writer living in Nashville, went to the trouble of getting Super Bowl tickets for himself and his girlfriend and was even going to propose to her at the game on Christmas, but life got in the way.

He was diagnosed with bladder cancer and upon hearing the news, his girlfriend apparently dumped him on the spot.

Now, she still wants the tickets because she claims they were purchased with her in mind. Rather than suffering such an injustice, Jason is auctioning the tickets off on Twitter.

An Afghan man and his mother choked the man's wife to death, when the child she gave birth to was a third girl. The man had threatened to kill her unless the baby was a boy.

The husband of a 30-year-old Afghan woman carried out his threat to kill her, if the baby she was carrying was another girl. Demonstrating the lack of value given to women, the victim, identified only as Storay, " was choked to death by her husband and her mother-in-law in a remote village in Khanabad district of Kunduz province," said Sayed Sarwar Hussaini, Times Live reported.

Storay was already a mother to two girls when her husband threatened to kill her if the third child was another female. Her husband murdered her when the infant was three-months-old and he is now on the run.

"While it was the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that defended teen atheist Jessica Ahlquist in her successful quest to have a prayer mural removed from her Rhode Island public high school, the FFRF is also rushing to the young girl’s defense.

Citing discrimination, the organization is filing a civil rights complaint after numerous florists refused to deliver flowers to the girl.

The FFRF reportedly tried to have a dozen roses delivered to Ahlquist with the message, ”Congratulations, and hang in there, with admiration from FFRF.”

After being denied by three florists in the Cranston, Rhode Island, area, the group was eventually able to secure an order from a business located in Connecticut.

According to FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor, Twins Florist, one of the businesses that refused to deliver, violated the Civil Rights Act when the business discriminated based on Ahlquist’s atheism. Gaylor released the receipt order from the florist, which reads, “I will not deliver to this person.”

The florists, though, disagree with Gaylor’s stance on the matter. Turnto10.com reports that Raymond Santilli of Flowers by Santilli, one of the companies the FFRF attempted to order from, explains that a foundation representative told him that the person delivering the flowers might need police protection.

He maintains that he has the right to deliver — or not — to whomever he chooses, because he owns the shop.

Twins Florist owner Marina Plowman echoed these sentiments. “I just chose not to do it. Nothing personal, it was a choice that I made. It was my right, so I did that,” she said. ”I’m an independent owner and I can chose whoever I want, whenever I want.”

Chinese government leaders are not pleased with the latest development in U.S. - Philippines relations.

After two days of talks, senior officials from the United States and the Philippines pledged Friday to enhance security cooperation. The former US colony is locked in increasingly acrimonious disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea.

In Manila, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines was looking to doing more joint exercises with the United States as well as having a greater number of US troops rotate through the Southeast Asian country.

But that's not all. Additional U.S. military personnel are going to other parts of the SE Asia-Pacific region.

Obama, on a visit to Australia, announced that the United States would post up to 2,500 Marines in the northern city of Darwin by 2016-17.

The United States also plans to forward-deploy littoral combat ships in Singapore, a longtime US partner with a strategic position.

The Philippines is considering a United States proposal to deploy surveillance aircraft on a temporary, rotating basis to enhance its ability to guard disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said on Friday.

Two days of talks in Washington this week on security ties between the two allies include plans to deploy more littoral combat ships and spy aircraft, Gazmin said.

Curiously, the new military deployments come as the Obama administration announces cuts in military expenditures. How's that work?

It's certainly insensitive but it just a comic and, as such, unlikely to harm anyone. There will always be insensitive people around and we have to expect that they will express themselves insensitively on occasions. Free speech protects insensitive people too. We should reserve our concern for people who do actual harm to others. There are plenty of those.

Certain subjects are so inappropriate as a subject for comedy, it’s a wonder any comedian or artist would see fit to take them on. One would hope the suffering of Jews about to be exterminated in Nazi concentration camps would be one of those. Apparently not so for one Argentine comic strip artist, who is now facing complaints from fellow citizens of the Latin American country.

The cartoon, by Gustavo Sala, depicts a DJ performing at a concentration camp and Hitler instructing inmates to “have fun because life is short.”

In the first panel, DJ David shouts: “Let’s f***ing dance! Party! Party!” To which the prisoners reply they have nothing to celebrate because they are going to be exterminated in mass.

None other than Señor Hitler enters in the third panel, telling the inmates in striped garb that a little fun can’t hurt, adding “have fun, because life is short.”

In the fourth and final panel, while the inmates dance wildly, Hitler thanks the DJ and quips, “If they are relaxed then the soap comes out much better.”

Just a day after publishing the anti-Semitic strip, the newspaper issued an apology on Friday.

(Toledo, Ohio) A 41-year-old local woman, Sonia Watson, has been accused of holding up the Liberty Tax Service office in West Toledo last Thursday using a curling iron.

According to the police report, Watson and her son entered the tax business with their faces covered but realized they had to wait in line so they removed "the cloths" from their faces.

The report states, once the customers left, the bumbling bandits covered their faces again and the tried to hold up the place using a curling iron.

Investigators say once workers realized what was going on they refused to hand over the cash and threw a chair and plastic bottle at the crooks.

Watson and her son were able to get the cash drawer before taking off. The perps were identified pretty easily, Watson had been in the same liberty tax recently to have her taxes done. They are still on the run.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- About 300 people were arrested Saturday during a chaotic day of Occupy protests that saw demonstrators break into City Hall and burn an American flag, as police earlier fired tear gas and bean bags to disperse hundreds of people after some threw rocks and bottles and tore down fencing outside a nearby convention center.

Dozens of police officers remained on guard outside City Hall around midnight following the most turbulent day of protests since November, when Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment. An exasperated Mayor Jean Quan, who faced heavy criticism for the police action last fall, called on the Occupy movement to "stop using Oakland as its playground."

"People in the community and people in the Occupy movement have to stop making excuses for this behavior," Quan said.

Protesters clashed with police throughout the day, at times throwing rocks, bottles and other objects at officers. And police responded by deploying smoke, tear gas and bean bag rounds, City Administrator Deanna Santanta said.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Heavy criticism for an academic who said those who display the Australian flag are likely to be racist

I think criticism of her is justified. She did apparently use the term "racist", which is very inflammatory. Many people would see it as including Hitler-type behaviour and she had no evidence that the people she described would endorse such behaviour.

There are many possible gradations of opinion about race-related matters. It may be noted, for instance, that the man who declared war on Hitler (Neville Chamberlain) was himself an antisemite of sorts -- so any implicit or explicit claim that there is such a thing as a monolithic entity called racism is unscholarly.

And any social scientist making or implying such a claim is ipso facto a very low-grade intellect. Though it might be noted that mean minds are common among sociologists. Many of them are still devoted to the writings of an obsolete economist and proven stimulator of hate named Karl Marx. The term "racist" of no use for anything except abuse. I use the term only in mockery of Leftist abuse.

I made some technical remarks about her research on 24th. but readers may also be interested in an alternative to her kneejerk reaction to the old "white Australia policy". See here for a more philosophically sophisticated look at the issues involved

A PERTH professor whose study found people who fly Australian flags on their cars are more racist than those who don't, says she has received over 70 critical emails which include demands that she go back to her "own country".

Brunei-born University of WA Professor Farida Fozdar [Judging by the name she is ethnically an Indian Muslim], who moved to Australia when she was seven, said she was shocked by the national reaction to her study which also spread as far India and the United States.

“Some emails have been quite polite and I’ve been able to reply and we’ve actually had quite a positive interaction out of it which, I really really value," Professor Fozdar said.

"But some are straight out lots of swear words and suggesting that I should go back to where I came from.

“I’ve also had a couple of emails from people implying that I’m the Grinch that killed Christmas and that now nobody is going to fly a flag because they think it shows that they’re racist.”

Professor Fozdar, a sociologist and anthropologist, said that although the study was reported “relatively accurately” in the media, some people have misinterpreted its findings.

“What has struck me most is that the media has reported the research relatively accurately in most cases, perhaps apart from some headlines, but people have taken it up in the wrong way,” Professor Fozdar said.

“People have taken it as though I was saying that anyone who flies a flag on their car for Australia Day is racist and that flying the flag generally is a racist thing to do and that certainly wasn’t what I was saying.”

Professor Fozdar said the study revealed flag-flyers were significantly less positive about Australia’s ethnic diversity than “non-flag flyers” but that the attitude is not shared by all Australians.

“The fact that there were significant differences doesn’t mean that everybody who flys the flag feel negative towards minorities but it means that a larger proportion of them did compared with people that weren’t flying flags,” she said.

Professor Fozdar said many people ignored her findings that the majority of both flag-flyers and non-flag flyers, interviewed by her research team, felt positive about Australia’s ethnic diversity.

“But that’s not what gets picked up by people,” she said. “That statistic was there, in a lot of media reports, but people took out of it that I’m saying they shouldn’t fly a flag for Australia Day because it’s racist and that we shouldn’t celebrate Australia Day. “That was just nowhere in the research and so that is what has surprised me.”

Friday, January 27, 2012

(Bethel, Pennsylvania) A 22-year-old teacher formerly at North Pitt High School, Sarah Holmes, has been accused of engaging in an indecent relationship with a 17-year-old student.

Holmes faces one count of felony indecent liberties.

Investigator Dolenti said age difference was not he key factor in the case.

"The age difference wasn't really the issue, it was just that student teacher relationship. The general statute states that as long as she is a active student at the school and he is an active student, any further relationship is inappropriate," Dolenti said.

A Pitt County Spokesperson said that state Board of Education was notified of the allegations against Holmes in November. If Holmes is found guilty of the charge she could lose her state teachers license.

(New Albany, Mississippi) Former Ripley High School teacher Melissa Mathis pleaded guilty to sexual battery on a minor stemming from improper relations with a former student.

As a result, Mathis was sentenced this week by Circuit Judge Robert Elliott to 15 years, delineated as one year of house arrest and 14 years suspended sentence.

Following her release from house arrest, she will be placed on five years post-release supervision. District Attorney Ben Creekmore tells the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal ( http://bit.ly/wtK7Nn) Mathis must register as a sex offender.

Mathis had been free on bond after being charged with two counts of sexual battery earlier this month. The second charge was dismissed in connection with her guilty plea. She resigned her job before she was arrested.

Interestingly, the usual time required to resolve teacher-student sex cases is months and sometimes years. From arrest to sentencing, this case was wrapped up in two weeks.

* * * * *

Mississippi Teacher Accused of Sex with Student[Previous 1/13/12 post](Ripley, Mississippi) A 37-year-old teacher formerly at Ripley High School, Melissa Mathis, has been accused of engaging in an improper relationship with a student.

Mathis faces two counts of sexual battery.

According to Tippah County Sheriff's Investigator Jason Willis, the investigation started last Friday after receiving a tip from the high school.

Mathis was arrested Thursday.

Mathis was booked into custody yesterday at the Tippah County Jail and released on $5,000 bond.

(Elkhart, Indiana) The Internet child exploitation case has snagged another woman who molested children at the direction of Steven Demink (aka Dalton St. Clair).

Autumn Marchant, 36, of 1417 Columbus Drive, Elkhart, admitted in May to molesting a young boy on camera the request of an online acquaintance.

Records in Elkhart Superior Court 3 detailed the case against her.

According to Elkhart Detective Lt. Peggy Snider, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security brought the allegations against Marchant to light.[…]

Marchant told officers she started out posing nude for Demink on camera, but at some point involved an 8-year-old boy as well as an underage girl, Snider wrote.

She and the girl fondled the boy, and she performed acts on the boy for his “health” and “she was following the instructions of ‘Dalton St. Claire’ so that she could have a happier life,” according to Snider’s affidavit.

For molesting young children, Marchant was sentenced by Judge George Biddlecome in Elkhart Superior Court to 20 years in state prison followed by 10 years of probation.

In her defense, Marchant told Judge Biddlecome that she is a single mom with no income and she has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

* * * * *

Demink Gets Prison in Exploitation Case - Updated[Previous 8/4/11 post](Detroit, Michigan) Yesterday in U.S. District Court, Steven Demink was sentenced by Judge Gerald Rosen to life in prison.

* * * * *

Woman Gets Prison in Exploitation Case - Updated[Previous 3/23/11 post](Norfolk, Virginia) Following up on the Internet child molestation case involving Steven Demink and women he convinced to molest children, a 41-year-old Virginia Beach woman, Rebecca J. Nail, has pleaded guilty to molesting a boy and broadcasting it live over the Internet.

Nail admitted molesting the teenage boy and producing images at least six times, including taking pictures at a Maine nudist camp. Once, she aired a sex act with the boy over the Internet for a man in another state who, she says, persuaded her to do it.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Lee Martin said in a court filing that Nail "repeatedly and horrifically sexually abused a minor."

"She allowed that child to be exploited further by some pervert she met on the Internet," Martin said. "And she participated in plans to abuse other children. Accordingly, Nail deserves the harshest possible penalty."

The man on the other end off the Internet, Steven Demink, pleaded guilty to related charges and is awaiting sentencing in Michigan.

As a result, U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Friedman sentenced Nail to 30 years in prison.

* * * * *

Internet Phony Talks Moms into Abusing Own Kids[Previous 3/3/11 post bumped](Detroit, Michigan) In October 2010, a 41-year-old Michigan man, Steven Demink, was arrested for allegedly presenting himself online as a single father and licensed psychologist named Dalton St. Clair who coaxed single moms on the Internet to sexually abuse their own children as a form of therapy.

Sometimes the women would send him pictures of them committing the acts, while other times he watched it happen live via webcam.

The children ranged in age from 3 to 15.

In one case, Demink convinced a woman to perform sexually explicit acts with her 8-year-old autistic son claiming that it would help educate the child about sex. While she committed the acts of sexual abuse on her child, Demink watched it happen on his webcam.

At least seven children have been rescued and three mothers have been arrested.

This week, Demink pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to exploitation of children. Sentencing has been scheduled for June when Demink faces 15 years to life in prison.

WE DON'T know how many burgers they made, but the other numbers are big enough. McDonald's rang up record sales of $US27 billion ($25.6 billion) in 33,510 restaurants worldwide last year, an increase of 12 per cent, turning a profit of $US5.5 billion from the 68 million customers it serves each day.

Although there is no country breakdown, it seems Australia was a weak contributor, with our stronger dollar biting into earnings and its chief executive, Jim Skinner, noting "lagging consumer confidence as a result of the economic slowdown".

Just 34 new stores opened in Australia last year, McDonald's US filings reveal, lifting this country's total to 865. That compared with 177 new stores opened in China.

But Australia again lived up to its track record as a hotbed of new ideas for the fast food giant. Chicken McBites have just been launched in the US after being invented here and launched in 2010. The recent launch here of smoothies and frappes have resulted in good sales volumes.

"That's something we're really proud of," said a spokeswoman. "Lots of innovation in McDonald's starts in Australia, like McCafes."

In what feel like hard economic times, McDonald's is trying to focus on value. "The McValue lunch has been very popular," the spokeswoman said.

Worldwide, said the chief operating officer, Donald Thompson, breakfast at McDonald's is booming, driven partly by local offerings such as McMuffins.

"Probably the biggest of all of the menu pieces I would say is breakfast. Breakfast is beginning to circulate around the rest of the world . .. there's some tremendous opportunity there. So we've got a lot of room still in breakfast products, the premium sandwiches. Wraps are travelling. McBites are in the US from Australia and smoothies and beverages are travelling around the world. So those things are going to continue."

In the December quarter, McDonald's reported sales of $US6.8 billion, up 10 per cent on the previous year, and net income of $US1.4 billion, up 11 per cent.

McDonald's does not give a country-by-country breakdown but the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa were the strongest of its geographic regions, with sales up by 11 per cent both for the quarter, after stripping out currency impacts, compared with a year earlier, and for the 2011 full year.

Sadly, per transaction bribery amounts have increased dramatically. The ruble value of bribes reportedly more than tripled in 2011 from previous years.

“The size of the average bribe and commercial payoff in reported crimes increased more than 250 percent to 236,000 rubles ($7866),” it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry also reports that success is being realized in the fight against corruption. So, even though bribery accounts for one-third of all corruption offenses and bribery has increased, overall corruption is reportedly down. Okay, fine.

It would logically seem that data on bribery comes from criminal prosecutions rather than bribers or bribees filling out tax forms. Therefore, the numbers reflect only those criminals arrested for bribery. It's arguable but I'd suggest most bribery goes unreported and most bribery involves government workers.

And being somewhat cynical, I'd also suggest the news reporting of bribery in Russia is less about informing the public and more about informing those offering bribes that the price of doing business has increased dramatically. In other words, Russian authorities are telling people to expect to pay more.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

(Portland, Oregon) It appears that previous convictions and jail haven't affected the behavior of former teacher Zuleyma Figueroa, 37, and housemate Concepcion Mendez-Hernandez.

Both are now accused of possession of cocaine after police searched their automotive shop.

Police found Figueroa, 37, and Concepcion Mendez-Hernandez, a co-defendant in her prior drug case, were the owners of the shop. Police did not say where the shop was located, or if Mendez-Hernandez was arrested.

Police said they allowed officers to search the shop's premises. A kilogram of cocaine was found in a trash can, police said. The estimated street value of the cocaine is $100,000.

Zuleyma Figueroa is in custody at the Multnomah County Detention Center.

* * * * *

Teacher Gets 45 Days for Dealing Meth - Updated[Previous 3/16/10 post](Portland, Oregon) Benson High School Spanish teacher Zuleyma Figueroa, 36, pleaded guilty to distributing a large quantity of methamphetamine out of the home she shared with 40-year-old Concepcion Mendez-Hernandez who also pleaded guilty to the meth offense.

In addition to jail, each woman also received three years of probation, 64 hours of community service and $500 in fines.

* * * * *

Oregon Teacher Indicted on Drug Charges[Previous 12/18/09 post](Portland, Oregon) A 35-year-old Spanish teacher at Benson Polytechnic High School, Zuleyma Noemi Figueroa, has been indicted for delivery and possession of methamphetamine.

Detectives executed a search warrant at Figueroa's Southeast Portland home in late November. They found approximately one ounce of methamphetamine and nearly $10,000 in cash, as well as packaging materials and scales.

"At this time we're not aware of student involvement or other teacher involvement," added Sergeant Greg Stewart of the Portland Police Bureau.

A search warrant showed detectives used two informants to make drug buys at the home on the 142 block of Southeast Lincoln on at lkeast three occasions. The informants identified Figueroa and another woman who lived at the home, 40-year-old Connie Mendez-Hernandez, as the ones who sold the meth.

(Reno, Nevada) Former Reed High School teacher Bethyl Shepherd, 35, pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a student and has been sentenced.

[She] was sentenced Jan. 26 to 60 days in jail and five years probation for unlawful sexual relations between a school employee and pupil.

She had been a special education teacher at Reed High School when a 17-year-old boy reported to school officials in April that he had a sexual relationship with Shepherd. Another boy came forward and reported the same thing.

Shepherd said there were five other boys, one who was 15, with whom she also engaged in sexual misconduct.

She blamed her bi-polar disorder for her crime.

Washoe District Chief Judge David Hardy stated Shepherd's behavior indicated a pattern of misconduct rather than an isolated incident.

In any event, Shepherd had sex with seven male students and received 60 days in jail. That's less than nine days in jail per victim. Harsh punishment? You make the call.

* * * * *

Nevada Teacher Accused of Sex with Two Students[Previous 4/25/11 post](Reno, Nevada) A 34-year-old special education teacher at Reed High School, Bethyl “Beth” Shepherd, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with two students.

Shepherd faces two counts of felony sexual conduct between a school employee and a pupil.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Sparks Justice Court, school police detectives learned through an unidentified source that Shepherd allegedly was involved in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student on April 7.

Investigators accused her in the court filing of having sex with two 17-year-olds in her personal vehicle, away from school grounds.

Shepherd was booked into custody at the Washoe County Jail with bond set at $4,000.

Apology sought from Wisconsin school superintendent who bullied Christian teen over homosexual adoption

This disgraceful episode is now in the hands of the lawyers

"A 15-year-old Wisconsin boy who wrote an op-ed opposing gay adoptions was censored, threatened with suspension and called ignorant by the superintendent of the Shawano School District, according to an attorney representing the child.

Mathew Staver, the founder of the Liberty Counsel, sent a letter to Superintendent Todd Carlson demanding an apology for “Its unconstitutional and irrational censorship and humiliation” of Brandon Wegner.

Wegner, a student at Shawano High School, was asked to write an op-ed for the school newspaper about whether gays should be allowed to adopt. Wegner, who is a Christian, wrote in opposition. Another student wrote in favor of allowing gays to adopt. Wegner used Bible passages to defend his argument, including Scripture that called homosexuality a sin.

The school immediately issued an apology – stating Wegner’s opinion was a “form of bullying and disrespect.”

But Staver said what the school system did next was absolutely outrageous. He said the 15-year-old was ordered to the superintendent’s office where he was subjected to hours of meetings and was accused of violating the school’s bullying policy.

“The superintendent called him ignorant and said he had the power to suspend him,” Staver said. “He’s using his position to bully this student. This is absolutely the epitome of intolerance.”

FOX News & Commentary offered Carlson a chance to address the allegations. He refused to submit to questions, but did say he would send a statement. That statement never arrived.

Staver said an apology from the superintendent may not suffice – and they may consider taking legal action. “It was a very intimidating situation for this 15-year-old boy,” he said.”It was uncalled for. He crossed the line. It’s absolutely outrageous and he needs to apologize for his actions.”

(Valdosta, Georgia) A 33-year-old employee at Lowndes County Middle School, Annetta Nikki Terrell, has been accused of forcing a 10-year-old boy to engage in sex with her in September 2005.

Nikki Terrell has been charged with child molestation. Her former husband, 36-year-old Joseph Terrell, faces a similar charge.

The Lowndes County school board released this statement:

"This is a personnel matter of a confidential nature. Lowndes County Schools will follow Georgia law and local school board policies in dealing with the situation. While this is under investigation, safety is our first priority. This employee will not be allowed on any Lowndes County campus or around any students."

Getting convincing evidence of the crime is probably difficult for an episode that occurred six and one-half years ago.

Educator, journalist and blogger Walter Brasch weighs in on the Penn State child sex scandal, describing in detail the chaotic actions of several university functionaries as they haltingly throw Joe Paterno under the bus in a reverent, supportive and loving manner.

(Charlotte, North Carolina) The 54-year-old principal at the Northwest School of the Arts, Barry Bowe, reportedly committed suicide by carbon monoxide at his home on Monday.

According to police, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg school employee went to check on Dr. Bowe at this home, but got no response. That's when officers say the employee called police.

A neighbor, who had a key to Dr. Bowe's home, let officers inside where they found his body inside a car in his garage.

CMS Interim Superintendent, Hugh Hattabaugh, called Dr. Bowe's death a tragic loss - saying the school system was very saddened that Bowe had died.

"Mr. Bowe had been at Northwest School of the Arts since 2008 and was cherished by the students, staff and families at the school," the school district said in a statement on Tuesday. "All of us at CMS are mourning the loss of a valued educator, colleague and friend. We extend our deepest sympathy to his family and friends."

It's not clear why Mr. Bowe offed himself. However, some believe there may be a link to a gun incident at the school last month.

(Laukvik, Norway) Mark your calendars, sports fans. On March 17th, the second annual Topless Tobogganing World Championships will be held at Laukvik, above the Arctic Circle. Naturally, it's expected to be nippy.

According to organizer Sten Hansen,

In 2010, some 500 people watched bare-chested Norwegian sledders barrel down the village’s hills. A year later, 1,000 spectators looked on as 30 entrants tumbled semi-clad through the Arctic snow for the inaugural World Championships, he said.

“It’s quite incredible considering there are only 450 people here in Laukvik,” said Hansen.

While he harbours hopes of the village securing national arena status, Hansen conceded this remained something of a pipe dream.

“We’re not affiliated with the Norwegian Olympic Committee yet, so we have some way to go. We’re also some distance away from recognition as an Olympic sport,” he said.

Nevertheless, record numbers of participants and spectators are expected this year.

According to the U.S. officials, two teams of Navy SEALs landed by helicopter near the compound where the two hostages were being held. As the SEALS approached the compound on foot gunfire broke out, the U.S. officials said, and several of the militants were reportedly killed. There is no word that any of the Americans were wounded.

The SEALs gathered up Buchanan and Thisted, loaded them onto the helicopters and flew them to safety at an undisclosed location. The two hostages were not injured during the rescue operation and are reported to be in relatively good condition.

Pirates kidnapped Buchanan and Thisted in October, expecting $10 million in ransom. Expectations went unrealized.

Indian religions might seem strange to us but Indians take then very seriosly -- almost as seriously as cricket. A Prime Minister of India (Indira Gandhi) was assassinated for desecrating the Golden temple. I would advise Mr Leno to apologize profusely. There are a lot of Sikhs in the USA.

India is to formally object to a joke by US TV host Jay Leno in which he said that the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs, was a summer home for wealthy presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Minister Vayalar Ravi termed the gag by "The Tonight Show" host as "quite unfortunate and quite objectionable" and said the Indian embassy in Washington would raise the issue, the Press Trust of India reported on Monday.

In a dig at Mr Romney's privileged background during a show last week, Leno used a photo of the ornate Sikh shrine in the northwestern Indian city of Amritsar during a segment on the vacation homes of US Republican presidential candidates.

Angry members of the Sikh community in the US circulated an online petition protesting the "derogatory depiction" of the Golden Temple, adding that "Jay Leno's racist comments need to be stopped right here".

Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Ravi said he had not watched the show himself but that the Sikh community in the US had lobbied him to take action against it.

"Freedom does not mean hurt the sentiments of others ... This is not acceptable to us and we take a very strong objection for such a display of an important place like Golden temple," Mr Ravi was reported to have said.

(St. Albans, Vermont) Convicted of multiple counts involving sex assault and restraint of two boys, 35-year-old Misty Smith was sentenced Monday by Franklin County District Court Judge Robert Mello. The proceedings were emotional.

Mello said she needed significant structure and treatment for the rest of her life.

“The court thinks that the two victims came closest to articulating what is needed here,” Mello said. “What Ms. Smith needs is a structure that she’s never had in her life. They don’t want to see her spend her life in jail, but they realize in order for her to succeed, which they want her to do, she’s going to need very strict supervision; as much supervision as possible.”

In total Smith received three years to life for the two sexual assault charges and three to five years for each count of unlawful restraint.

Sad case. Smith has a previous conviction for aggravated assault and a suicide attempt. Her criminal behavior is partly blamed on Smith being borderline mentally retarded due to fetal alcohol syndrome.

“The first step toward rehabilitation is taking responsibility for your actions,” Keller said. “I’m trying to help you take that first step.”

Smith responded “Yes” when Keller asked whether she assaulted the boys and later hid them from their parents and the police. Earlier in the hearing, Smith had said she hid the boys because they wanted to stay with her.

In exchange for her guilty plea Tuesday in Vermont Superior Court in St. Albans, prosecutors reduced two charges of aggravated sexual assault to the two counts of sexual assault, and dropped 13 other charges, including a third count of aggravated sexual assault, as well as two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.

Smith faces a possible term of life in prison when sentenced at an as yet to be scheduled future date.

The Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS) has announced plans to set up an internet TV channel, while it is also in talks with various companies to provide its members with a Swiss-Muslim discount card.

The new TV studios, due to become operational this summer, will play host to a political show, a weekly series on a range of topics seen from a Muslim perspective, and a sermon series, newspaper SonntagsZeitung reports. Sermons are to be given mainly in German, but also in Arabic, Bosnian and Albanian. German subtitles will also be available.

The ICCS is also working towards providing its members with a card that will give discounts of up to 15 percent at a variety of outlets including fitness centres, restaurants and shops.

And then there's this.

Council members who do not positively endorse new articles appearing on social media sites such as Facebook would face disciplinary action if they fail to click “like” within 24 hours of the article being posted by the ICCS, Sonntags Zeitung reported.

(Hanoi, Vietnam) US$2 bills are considered lucky in Vietnam. Very lucky and they are aggressively sought.

As Tet, or Lunar New Year, draws near, many are willing to pay 60 times the bill’s value to get one.

“$2 bills are produced in small numbers compared to other kinds. Besides, two is a beautiful number in Asian conception. Many buy the bills to put inside their wallet or to give to friends for good luck,” said Nguyen Hang, who works for a big supermarket in Hanoi.

She said she had just reserved a spot to buy a US$2 note, which is worth VND2.5 million ($125).

The Ever-Expanding Concept of "Bullying" Casts an Ominous Shadow Over Free Speech‏

A school superintendant has labeled a column in a school newspaper that criticized homosexuality as “bullying.” (The Shawano High School newspaper decided to run dueling student opinion pieces on whether same-sex couples should be able to adopt children; the student article that was labeled as “bullying” answered the question “no.”)

Whatever the wisdom (or lack thereof) of featuring something like that in a school newspaper, it seems strange to argue that a viewpoint in a student newspaper is “bullying.”

A conservative Christian who thought that homosexuality was immoral successfully challenged a school “harassment” code that punished students with such viewpoints in Saxe v. State College Area School District (2001), a case in which a federal appeals court ruled that there is no “harassment” exception to the First Amendment for speech which offends members of minority groups.

But schools and anti-bullying activists have adopted incredibly overbroad definitions of bullying. The anti-bullying website NoBully.com, and schools like Fox Hill and Alvarado Elementary, define even “eye rolling” and other expressions of displeasure or hostility as bullying, even though doing so raises First Amendment problems.

Since “creating web sites” that “make fun of others” also is deemed “cyberbullying,” conservative websites that poke fun at the president are presumably guilty of cyberbullying under this strange definition.

(Lafourche Parish, Louisiana) A 29-year-old teacher at South Lafourche High School, Heather Lasseigne Chiasson, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 17-year-old male student.

Chaisson has been charged with prohibited sexual conduct between an educator and a student, a misdemeanor in Louisiana.

Parish schools Superintendent Jo Ann Matthews said Chiasson has been suspended from her position, and the school district will decide her final employment status after an investigation into the allegations is complete.

The alleged victim stated his relationship with Chaisson started with flirting and resulted in sex. Note that Chaisson was only charged with a misdemeanor because of the age of the victim. A younger victim would likely have resulted in a felony charge.

(Orlando, Florida) Last Thursday, Lori Szmuc was sentenced after convictions on charges of lewd battery and molestation of a 13-year-old boy.

Szmuc received four years in prison.

In January 2011, Szmuc sent him a text message saying her parents were out of town and their apartment was available. The boy met her at the apartment and Szmuc "began having sexual intercourse with him," the report states.

A similar incident happened a second time at her parents' apartment, the report shows. The boy said he later told Szmuc he was tired of her demands and wanted to stop the relationship.

While he participated in an after-school activity at a nearby facility, he said Szmuc would show up and "stare at him, making him feel uncomfortable."

After release from prison, Szmuc will serve 10 years of sex offender probation.

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Florida Woman Arrested for Sex with Boy[Previous 4/15/11 post](Orlando, Florida) A 43-year-old local woman, Lori A. Szmuc, has been arrested for allegedly raping and molesting a 13-year-old boy.

Szmuc faces charges of sexual battery on a child over 12 years and lewd and lascivious molestation.

Investigators learned that the boy was invited to go on several walks with Szmuc, during which she would make sexual advances toward him.

The boy told deputies he was requested to go to Szmuc’s apartment and on several occasions he was coerced into having sex with her.

(Madison, Wisconsin) Typically, an individual who participates in criminal activities desires to maintain a low profile when the authorities come snooping around. It's a good rule of thumb for those who prefer not to be jailed.

As such, it's a mystery why an alleged criminal facing charges of bail jumping, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana would willfully change his name to Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop.

Previously, this Einstein was known as Jeffrey Wilschke, 30, but changed his name in October 2011. It's not surprising that he's been in deep doo-doo ever since.

(Wellington, New Zealand) The 38-year-old founder of file-sharing site Megaupload.com, Kim Dotcom (aka Kim Schmitz), was arrested Friday by New Zealand police for alleged Internet piracy.

German national Dotcom and three accomplices were arrested after an FBI investigation. They face charges of copyright infringement as well as conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit racketeering.

The group was accused of engaging in a scheme that took more than $500 million away from copyright holders and generated over $175 million in proceeds from subscriptions and advertising.

A police official said dozens of officers, backed by helicopters, forced their way into the mansion, nestled in lush, rolling farmland, after Dotcom refused them entry, a scene more reminiscent of a high-octane spy drama than the usual policeman's lot in rural New Zealand.

"Despite our staff clearly identifying themselves, Mr Dotcom retreated into the house and activated a number of electronic-locking mechanisms," said Detective Inspector Grant Wormald from the Organised and Financial Crime Agency New Zealand.

Officers broke the locks and Dotcom barricaded himself into a safe room which officers had to cut their way through to gain access.

"Once they gained entry into this room, they found Mr Dotcom near a firearm which had the appearance of a shortened shotgun," he said. "It was definitely not as simple as knocking at the front door."

The alleged perpetrators face extradition and trial in the U.S.

According to another source, Dotcom's lifestyle was lavish. Once he had filled a swimming pool with imported spring water.

And a documentary uploaded online shows Schmitz, surrounded by topless women, spraying champagne on board a superyacht during a "crazy weekend" in Monaco that reportedly cost US$10 million.

The third-grade maths problems - which featured such questions as: 'If Frederick got two beatings each day, how many beatings did he get in one week?' - sparked outrage among parents connected with the school, and led to a wider investigation in Gwinnett County in Georgia.

Gwinnett County schools spokeswoman Sloan Roach confirmed that a suburban Atlanta teacher had resigned over the homework at Beaver Ridge Elementary School in Norcross, and a further three were still under investigation.

She says the school system accepted the resignation of the teacher but declined to elaborate on the rest.

Parents were angered by the maths problems, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had called for the teachers responsible to be fired.

Among other questions deemed offensive in the third-graders' homework, one read: 'Each tree has 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?"

A third said: 'Susan B Anthony was fined $100 for voting for president. She only had $25, how much more did she need to pay the fine?'

School officials said it was an attempt to mix social studies with mathematics, but parents were horrified when their children brought the questions home.

The school has claimed that papers containing the offending mathematics problems have since been destroyed to prevent their future use.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

(Franklin County, Pennsylvania) Here's a strange story resulting from a mixture of alcohol and youthful stupidity.

Armed with flaming tampons--yes, flaming tampons--two young Pennsylvanians attempted to blow up a vehicle after severely vandalizing it, according to police.

The bizarre January 7 incident outside a bar in Metal Township resulted in the arrest of Patricia Deshong, 25, and Quentin Deshong, 22, on a variety of charges, including attempted arson, public drunkenness, and criminal mischief.

Despite their important implications for interpersonal behaviors and relations, cognitive abilities have been largely ignored as explanations of prejudice. We proposed and tested mediation models in which lower cognitive ability predicts greater prejudice, an effect mediated through the endorsement of right-wing ideologies (social conservatism, right-wing authoritarianism) and low levels of contact with out-groups. In an analysis of two large-scale, nationally representative United Kingdom data sets (N = 15,874), we found that lower general intelligence (g) in childhood predicts greater racism in adulthood, and this effect was largely mediated via conservative ideology. A secondary analysis of a U.S. data set confirmed a predictive effect of poor abstract-reasoning skills on antihomosexual prejudice, a relation partially mediated by both authoritarianism and low levels of intergroup contact. All analyses controlled for education and socioeconomic status. Our results suggest that cognitive abilities play a critical, albeit underappreciated, role in prejudice. Consequently, we recommend a heightened focus on cognitive ability in research on prejudice and a better integration of cognitive ability into prejudice models.

What the article ignores is that the mental gymnastics required by political correctness are considerable. A simple soul who sees a lot of black crime is likely to have a low opinion of blacks and say so. But, as is often said, some ideas are so stupid that only an intellectual would believe them. And concluding that chronic black criminality is all Whitey's fault is one such idea. So all the study really shows is that brighter people are more able to absorb the counterintuitive but politically correct cult that the elite have made normative in society. Only simpler people take their views from observable reality.

And we must also note that we are talking here about ADMITTED attitudes. And where some attitudes are much decried -- as are racially-denominated attitudes -- the truth of any admissions can only be speculated on. It could well be that attitude to blacks (say) is the same at all levels of IQ but only the simpler members of society are foolish enough to admit what they really think.

I could go on but I think it is already clear that this study proves nothing.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

(Vista, California) Last week, former Valley Center Middle School teacher, Nancy Jean Hildebrand, pleaded guilty to hosting a wild, drunken party for teens at her home.

Hildebrand was convicted on misdemeanor charges of violating the county social host ordinance and providing alcohol to a minor.

She was sentenced to three years’ probation, fined $1,000, and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service to be directed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, District Attorney spokeswoman Tanya Sierra said.

Hildebrand had been scheduled to be tried on the charges next week. She faced up to a year in jail if she had been convicted.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Bob Bishop said empty hard liquor and beer bottles were strewed about the house on Puma Trail. Teenagers were passed out on couches in their own vomit, and there was even a strip poker game going on in one bedroom involving four girls being photographed by boys.

The woman, Nancy Jean Hildebrand, was at the house and, according to witnesses, was passing out beer to the minors, Bishop said.

She wore a name tag that said “My name is Nancy, I’m (her daughter’s) mom.”

Hildebrand was booked into custody on charges of providing alcohol to minors and for violating the local “social host” ordinance that forbids adults from hosting alcohol parties for minors. She was later released on bail.

(Brownsville, Tennessee) Last week in Madison County Circuit Court, former gym teacher and softball coach at Haywood High School, Chanda Franks, pleaded guilty and was sentenced for engaging in sex with a 14-year-old girl.

The terms of the agreement resulted in Franks pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated statutory rape and entering a best-interest plea to coercion of a witness.

She received a sentence of two years on each count of aggravated statutory rape and two years for coercion of a witness. The combined effective sentence was six years.

But based on the plea agreement, which was approved and recommended to the District Attorney's Office by the girl's family, Franks will be eligible for release on Monday, after serving a little more than nine months in jail, police said.

Upon release, she will be placed on supervised probation for six years and must register as a sex offender.

After release from Madison County Jail, Franks will be transported to Haywood County to face similar charges involving the same female student.

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High School Coach Indicted for Sexual Battery - Updated[Previous 3/22/11 post](Brownsville, Tennessee) Last Friday, Haywood County High School softball coach and gym teacher Chandra Franks was indicted on 19 counts of sexual battery. She remains free on bond.

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High School Coach Accused of Sexual Battery[Previous 2/21/11 post bumped](Brownsville, Tennessee) Earlier today, a gym teacher and softball coach at Haywood High School, Chanda Franks, surrendered to police after learning that a warrant was issued for her arrest on a sexual battery charge.

Franks is accused of touching a 14-year old student's breast for sexual arousal.

"As soon as we developed probable cause to make an arrest, we issued an arrest warrant," said Lt. Shawn Williams. "As parents we know we don't want predators around our children, much less know something like this is going on and allow a predator around someone else's kids."

Franks was booked into custody and subsequently released on $25,000 bond. A court appearance is scheduled for March 17.

Citizens Sue to Stop ‘Lord’s Prayer’ Recitation at Delaware County Council Meetings

We read:

"Now, there’s another battle brewing in Wilmington, Delaware, over recitation of the Lord’s Prayer at public meetings. On Wednesday, a hearing was held in a lawsuit that aims to stop the Sussex County Council from reciting the well-known prayer before each meeting.

Interestingly, much of the argument is centered around whether or not the prayer is explicitly Christian. The county’s attorney, J. Scott Shannon, argues that the prayer is generic and, thus, doesn’t favor any particular faith. The plaintiffs, of course, disagree.

The council has been reciting the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning of each Tuesday morning meeting for the past 41 years. The action, according to The News Journal, has been taken under both Democratic and Republican majorities.

But four residents are asking U.S. District Court Judge Leonard P. Stark to rule that this action violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AUSCS), a church-state separatist group, is defending the four citizens who would like to see the recitation ruled unconstitutional.

Attorneys for the council believe that a 1983 ruling — March v. Chambers — provides a foundation that defends the use of the Lord’s Prayer. In the ruling, it was found that a government-funded chaplain in Nebraska was constitutionally able to say a prayer before legislative sessions.

“It is not required that a prayer be inoffensive to all or that it be all-inclusive,” Shannon argued, going on to claim that Jesus Christ — a Jew — had originally uttered the prayer. ”(Jesus) was not offering a Christian prayer in the Christian tradition because no Christian tradition existed,” Shannon continues.

“I’m afraid you all might have brought me a difficult case because there is no reference to Jesus or Allah” [in the Lord's prayer] Stark said.